Compost & Composting - Go Green for your soil, garden & environment
Compost Happens with or without you. But, if you want to learn how you can make it better, faster, and easier, how it can help you in your garden, and how you can help the Earth and your environment, Read On!
This picture of a Swallowtail on a Daylily was taken by fizgig777 & posted here on GardenWeb.com. Just an example of the Beautiful & Good things that happen when you add compost to your soil.
Compost Basics
Compost happens when nitrogen, carbon, air and moisture feed microbes that digest and decompose stuff into compost.What is compost good for? To add to your garden, your houseplants - or just back to the ground.
Nitrogen - a.k.a. "greens" - food & green plant scraps
Carbon - a.k.a. "browns" - leaves, paper products
Suggested ratio is about 3:1 Brown/Carbon :to: Green/Nitrogen
Nothing is all nitrogen or all carbon - but the things in the list below have significantly more of one than the other.
How long does the "stuff" take to decompose into compost? That depends. [famous lawyer answer] Depends on container, size of "pile", green/brown ratio, moisture content, amount/activity level of microbes.
REMEMBER: Especially if you have a garden - All of these nutrients came out of the ground to make the plant. If you don't compost, how will it get back into the ground?
What is Your Relationship to Compost?
Vote for your Favorite Compost Ingredients!
201 items for your compost pile
Tell us what you love adding to your compost pile the most - or what you can see yourself adding to most to your soon-to-be compost pile! [If you like this list, thank Marion Owen @ Plantea.com for inspiring & creating an awesome one (from which we've borrowed some items).] If you don't have a compost pile yet, how many of these things do you add to a landfill everyday that could be nourishing your Earth tomorrow?
Clementines, Oranges, Pears, Apples, Cantaloupes
that got too mushy in fridge before you got around more...1 point
Tomatoes, Cucumers, Peppers, Zucchini, Celery, Lettuce
that got too mushy before you got around to eating more...1 point
Moldy stuff in fridge that you're finally cleaning out
(that do NOT include dairy or meat)1 point
rabbit, hamster, guinea pig cage cleanouts
(but not dog or cat droppings)0 points
old jelly, jams and chutneys that got moldy before you finished the jar
0 points
the take-home bags of . . .
left-over spaghetti, mash pototatoes & gravy, more...0 points
"heavy" or "lite" syrup from canned fruit
(the little that you didn't pour onto your yogurt more...0 points
the remaining peanut-butter in the jar
(because you're going on a diet)0 points
mushy, brown bananas
(that would be great in a banana nut bread, but no more...0 points
the gift of a fruitcake
(because no one is ever really going to eat it - a more...0 points
pressed board boxes
(that're used for packaging toothpaste, instant ri more...0 points
the sugar & flour that falls onto the table & floors when making cookies
0 points
the now slimy fresh mint & parsley that you never did get around to using in your salad
0 points
children's homework & schoolwork papers
(that just can't all be kept in the sentimental &q more...0 points
fliers from the Home Owners' Assoc, & local vendors that are stuck in the door
0 points
IRS tax return forms that you won't use because you have a software program or CPA
0 points
every pressed board item (e.g. boxes, wrappings) that came out of the bathroom closet & draws that you finally decluttered
0 points
all those "page 2 of 2" that you printer spits out that has nothing on it
0 points
any printed item along the line of "Go Yankees"
[See my Boston Red Sox - It's About Faith Squidoo more...0 points
the little paper peelings that teenagers create when
they're talking on the phone & peel the label more...0 points
puzzles that are missing a few pieces
and so no one will actually do them anymore0 points
paper wrapper of the Ream of Paper
from your favorite office supplies store0 points
used dirt from container plants
e.e. summer window box annuals & container tom more...0 points
green tomatoes that are too small to transform
into Fried Green Tomatoes0 points
all of the paper bills that you pay online anyway
(that you've been meaning to put on paperless emai more...0 points
white rice, because you're going to replace it
with brown rice because white rice is so bad for y more...0 points
cotton balls that you used to clean the dog's ears
(but not the ones that have makeup remover on them more...0 points
the cardboard boxes that the dryer sheets come in
(but not the dryer sheets themselves)0 points
stale left-over dinner rolls
(if you're not going to get around to making homem more...0 points
the dust-covered dried flower arrangement
in the living room, which is also bad feng shui0 points
all that tissue paper in the Christmas gift boxes
(if you're not going to save it for future gift or more...0 points